Pai gow is an Asian game based on the use of tiles arranged by each player into a two-tile high side and a two-tile low side, looking for higher ranking on each side of the two sides. The two-sided hand configuration has since been adapted to poker to create the game of pai gow poker.
Pai gow poker uses a 53-card deck consisting of a standard 52-card deck plus a joker. The joker card used in standard pai gow poker is a “bug” card, as opposed to a wild card, meaning that it can only act as a fill-in card to complete a straight, a flush or a straight flush, or otherwise acts as the fifth ace when not used in a straight, a flush or a straight flush. However, in some localities, such as Southern California, a version of pai gow poker using a completely wild joker card is prevalent.
Players are dealt a seven-card hand that they arrange into a “short” side comprising two playing cards and a “long” side comprising five playing cards. The rules of standard poker define the ranking of hands. In yet another rule, the long side must have a higher poker ranking than the short side. If a player disobeys this rule, the player's hand is considered to be a foul, leading to the forfeiture of any wager. Typically, a gaming establishment has a set of rules mandating how its dealers must arrange their pai gow poker hands, known as the “house way.”
The player's hand faces the dealer's hand. Where the players elect to bank against one another and, thus, finance the action against one another, the player's hand faces the banker's hand. In order to win, a player must have a short side and a long side that both beat the ranking of the banker's short side and long side (for purposes of simplicity, the discussion mostly assumes the banker is a dealer acting on behalf of a gaming establishment, also referred to here as the “house”). If the ranking of one of the player's two sides is identical to the ranking of the banker's corresponding side, an occurrence known as a “copy,” the house wins if the other side of the house's hand has a higher ranking than that of the player's corresponding side. If the player has just one side of higher ranking than the banker's corresponding side, an occurrence known as a “push,” then neither the house nor the player win.
When played as per the rules described above, pai gow poker is close to being a 50/50 game of chance. For this reason, casinos must charge a commission, generally 5%, against player wins in order to create a house edge covering their costs of operation (where a player is the banker, a 5% commission is generally charged against all player net winnings). The need to charge a commission in order to have an adequate house edge is naturally a drawback to the game of pai gow poker. It makes the game appear more overtly unfavorable to players, resulting in player dissatisfaction and avoidance of the game by potential players. Moreover, the time lost in calculating commissions is taken away from play, resulting in loss of revenue to casinos who, in principle, experience increased revenue from increased play. Also, the need for dealers to stop play in order to calculate commissions distracts them, resulting in increased dealer errors during play, thus reducing casino yields. Finally, the need to calculate commissions inevitably results in dealer miscalculations. To the extent such dealer miscalculations are in favor of players, the house loses revenue directly. To the extent such dealer miscalculations are in favor of the house, they risk provoking player dissatisfaction and mistrust. The prior art fails to disclose a pai gow poker game overcoming the need for a gaming establishment to charge the standard house commission on player winnings that pays even money on player wins.
Another problem endemic to pai gow poker is the relatively slow pace of the game. Since many pai gow poker hands are pushes where neither side wins, it will be appreciated that a pai gow poker game may go on for a long time without any exchange of money (action) occurring. From a gaming establishment's standpoint, such time equates to lost revenue, and it would be generally desirable to increase the speed of play.
In view of the foregoing, some gaming establishments offer altered pai gow games with altered proposition bets designed to boost casino earnings. The following disclosures comprise some of these pai gow poker game variations.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,424 to Evers et al. discloses a pai gow poker game method and device (machine version). Though Evers et al. alter standard pai gow poker rules to make the game more stimulating for players, for example, by providing increased jackpots, they do not improve the game by eliminating the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,453 to Srichayaporn discloses a method and apparatus for playing a high/low poker game in certain gaming jurisdictions, such as tribal reservations, where “dealer bank” games are not allowed. Srichayaporn seeks to overcome this problem, but does not disclose a method of play directed to enabling the elimination of standard house commissions on player winnings.
Leone et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,078 B1, disclose a method for playing an improved version of pai gow poker which alters the rules by allowing a player to play against the house even when another player is acting as the banker. Leone et al. do nothing, however, to enable the elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,302 B1 to Boylan et al. discloses a modified pai gow poker game using tie-breaker cards to overcome pushes. However, Boylan et al. do nothing to enable the elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,906 B1 to Timpano discloses a supplemental wager pai gow poker game that extends wagers to each of the short and long sides of players' hands, but fails to enable the elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,289 B1 to Feola discloses a pai gow poker game of chance using a random number generator to determine who receives the first hand of a game, and offering a side bet (proposition bet) regarding who gets that first hand. U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,220 B1 to Feola discloses a pai gow poker game of chance with bonuses (different proposition bets) on partial hands. Both of these patents to Feola seek to increase interest in pai gow poker play, but neither invention enables the elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2008/0099996 to Webb claims to provide for a version of “no commission” pai gow poker. However, in reality, Webb utilizes a commission structure by altering payouts to less than even money to take the place of a formal commission charge. This approach to “elimination” of the standard house commission on player winnings is entirely dissimilar to the approach of the instant disclosure, which relies on a push mechanism as explained in detail below.
It can thus be seen that there is a need for an improved pai gow poker game enabling gaming establishments to eliminate the standard house commission on player winnings while maintaining their house edge, along with methods of play, tangible aids to foster efficient and enjoyable play of the game, and embodiments in gaming machines, play over computer networks and tournament play.